Pages in topic: < [1 2 3] > | Freelancing for a Living Thread poster: Ozgur Demirel
| Tom in London United Kingdom Local time: 10:02 Member (2008) Italian to English
Sonja Kroll wrote:
To me personally, "perfectionist" and translating into a language which is not your mother tongue seem somewhat contradicting. This notion is supported by your sample translation into English.
Well said, Sonja. Ozgur, take note. | | |
Sonja Kroll wrote:
To me personally, "perfectionist" and translating into a language which is not your mother tongue seem somewhat contradicting.
For most languages - yes. But English is very simple. Everyone can translate into English. | | | Ozgur Demirel Türkiye Local time: 13:02 English to Turkish + ... TOPIC STARTER
"If you're translating into a language which is not your mother tongue, you can't claim to be perfectionist with your occupation" is a thumbrule ? Just out of curiosity.
Thanks for the tips Giles Watson but, for the penetration strategy, an entry to the market is best practiced with price competitiveness, isn't it ? If you're disadvantageous due to the number of references you can show off or the fact that you are new to the scene or are not a translation/linguistics/literature grad... See more "If you're translating into a language which is not your mother tongue, you can't claim to be perfectionist with your occupation" is a thumbrule ? Just out of curiosity.
Thanks for the tips Giles Watson but, for the penetration strategy, an entry to the market is best practiced with price competitiveness, isn't it ? If you're disadvantageous due to the number of references you can show off or the fact that you are new to the scene or are not a translation/linguistics/literature graduate, you have to offer something to attract, no ?
I'm claiming this for a starter strategy of course. Why sell for lower when you build a convincing portfolio ? That would, counterproductively, bruise your reputation. My 2 cents. ▲ Collapse | | |
Alexander Onishko wrote:
Sonja Kroll wrote:
To me personally, "perfectionist" and translating into a language which is not your mother tongue seem somewhat contradicting.
For most languages - yes. But English is very simple. Everyone can translate into English.
What...? Where do I even begin with this statement? Perhaps I should just be diplomatic and say that my experience suggests that this is not the case at all. | |
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Jenn Mercer United States Local time: 05:02 Member (2009) French to English
TransAfrique wrote:
Alexander Onishko wrote:
Sonja Kroll wrote:
To me personally, "perfectionist" and translating into a language which is not your mother tongue seem somewhat contradicting.
For most languages - yes. But English is very simple. Everyone can translate into English.
What...? Where do I even begin with this statement? Perhaps I should just be diplomatic and say that my experience suggests that this is not the case at all.
I'm pretty sure that was a joke. | | | Giles Watson Italy Local time: 11:02 Italian to English In memoriam Be a man with a plan | Sep 11, 2011 |
Ozgur Demirel wrote:
"If you're translating into a language which is not your mother tongue, you can't claim to be perfectionist with your occupation" is a thumbrule ? Just out of curiosity.
If you're translating into a language that is not your mother tongue you are likely to be slower. We are generally paid piece rates so you will tend to earn less than you would translating into your native language (relative rates and work available can affect this, of course). The same is true of translating in sectors with which you are not familiar, where you will have to do more basic research and may be unaware of underlying principles.
If you're disadvantageous due to the number of references you can show off or the fact that you are new to the scene or are not a translation/linguistics/literature graduate, you have to offer something to attract, no ?
That very first job tends to be a matter of luck or preseverance but don't think in the short term. The important thing is to take a long-term view of your translation career. Carry out a "self-audit" of the skills you actually have, identify the skills you need to be able to offer uniquely good translations and seek out ways to acquire those extra skills (e.g. private study, formal training and paid or voluntary work experience in the sectors you have identified as promising).
Be a man with a plan! | | | Tom in London United Kingdom Local time: 10:02 Member (2008) Italian to English
Alexander Onishko wrote:
But English is very simple. Everyone can translate into English.
This is obviously a joke. | | |
Ozgur Demirel wrote:
...an entry to the market is best practiced with price competitiveness, isn't it ?
I would love to comment on that, but your reactions to Guiseppina's post and mine tell me that you are not exactly keen on taking advice from women. Which, if true, would mean that you bereave yourself of about 50% of all the know-how there is.
[Bearbeitet am 2011-09-11 08:48 GMT] | |
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Ozgur Demirel Türkiye Local time: 13:02 English to Turkish + ... TOPIC STARTER
I am failing to see in what regard you perceived my appreciative and thankful reactions to you and Ms. Gatta's posts to be sexist. Would you please clarify ? | | | Paul Dixon Brazil Local time: 07:02 Portuguese to English + ... In memoriam In Brazil the answer is no | Sep 11, 2011 |
In Brazil it is almost impossible to make a living out of free-lance translation (or any other profession) because of the crippling taxes. We have the highest tax rate in the world, and also have nearly one hundred and fifty different taxes, and to work as a freelance translator you need to open a company (99% of corporate clients demand this) which makes matters worse because you pay corporation taxes as well.
I have seen people in European countries say they would like to move els... See more In Brazil it is almost impossible to make a living out of free-lance translation (or any other profession) because of the crippling taxes. We have the highest tax rate in the world, and also have nearly one hundred and fifty different taxes, and to work as a freelance translator you need to open a company (99% of corporate clients demand this) which makes matters worse because you pay corporation taxes as well.
I have seen people in European countries say they would like to move elsewhere - in this case, don't choose Brazill
[Edited at 2011-09-11 10:21 GMT] ▲ Collapse | | | Williamson United Kingdom Local time: 10:02 Flemish to English + ... Just like Belgium. | Sep 11, 2011 |
Alexandra Pirotte wrote:
As to whether it’s possible to make a decent enough living as a translator, I can’t answer that question yet. Once I’m flying on my own, so to speak, I’ll be hammered by the punishing taxes that we have here in Belgium. I may decide to take my business (and purchasing power) elsewhere then...
Some Belgian translators went to the UK.
Others to the Dominican Republic or Costa Rica ( both as good as a fiscal paradise), still others to Hong Kong (nearly a fiscal paradise).
My previous experience with the Belgian tax-system is that the more you earn the more you are going to have to pay in advance until you arrive at a moment that you notice for yourself: Based in Belgium, ain't worth it.
In countries with high taxes and an extensive bureaucracy, you have to be a bit masochistic to be(come) a freelancer.
But even so, when a (retired??) specialist in nuclear sciences offers his services as a translator at 0.06-0.08 eurocent p.w.to add something to his pension, it makes me wonder if translation is a profession worthwhile remaining in?
How much do we have to ask for a normal non-specialised translation?
English an easy language? Read through the Economist or the BBC-webpages and try to translate say the science page without using a dictionary. You'll notice how easy English is.
[Edited at 2011-09-11 16:29 GMT] | | | Özür dilerim. Fiyatları hakkında konuşmalım | Sep 11, 2011 |
I perceived your answers as sarcastic in our cases. That may well have been a misinterpretation, in which case I would like to apologise.
> an entry to the market is best practiced with price competitiveness, isn't it ?
To my experience the opposite holds true: If you make "competitive" rates your USP, the signal going along with it is that you need to be cheap because that is all you have to offer. Plus there will always be someone who is cheaper than you, so where to ... See more I perceived your answers as sarcastic in our cases. That may well have been a misinterpretation, in which case I would like to apologise.
> an entry to the market is best practiced with price competitiveness, isn't it ?
To my experience the opposite holds true: If you make "competitive" rates your USP, the signal going along with it is that you need to be cheap because that is all you have to offer. Plus there will always be someone who is cheaper than you, so where to stop?
A decent product should be what you sell, at a solid rate which does not depend on what anyone else charges, but on what you personally need to charge to create your decent product. If you have to work like an idiot in order not to starve, your translations will probably not be the best.
I do not care who might be cheaper than me (most colleagues in my niche are I suppose) and have never been short of customers so far. They simply know that a crappy translation is _always_ too expensive, no matter how rock-bottomish the translator charges.
[Bearbeitet am 2011-09-11 18:35 GMT] ▲ Collapse | |
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Williamson wrote:
English an easy language? Read through the Economist or the BBC-webpages and try to translate say the science page without using a dictionary. You'll notice how easy English is.
But why??? One is free to use dictionaries. If you don't know something - don't be afraid to look up. This is only good.
Saying that English is easy, I meant English grammar first of all. For example, compared to Slavonic languages that have declensions and conjugations, English grammar is very simple.
[Edited at 2011-09-11 20:18 GMT] | | | Dave Bindon Greece Local time: 12:02 Greek to English In memoriam Comprehension | Sep 11, 2011 |
Alexander Onishko wrote:
Byt why??? One is free to use dictionaries. If you don't know something - don't be afraid to look up. This is only good.
Saying that English is easy, I meant English grammar first of all. For example, compared to Slavonic languages that have declensions and conjugations, English grammar is very simple.
Understanding English may be relatively simple (although I see a lot of non-native English speakers - even professional translators - getting confused when, for example, a word could be either a noun or a verb). Translating into English, however, is a different kettle of fish. Many non-native speakers may think it's easy to translate into English, but native-speakers spot the errors even more easily. | | | Ozgur Demirel Türkiye Local time: 13:02 English to Turkish + ... TOPIC STARTER Hiç önemli değil | Sep 11, 2011 |
Sonja Kroll wrote:
I perceived your answers as sarcastic in our cases. That may well have been a misinterpretation, in which case I would like to apologise.
Oh, ma'am, thanks to my hardened years of forum moderatorship, I'm pretty sure that sarcasm hardly works on the internet if the source and the target of the message are not well acquainted with each other.
Still, no worries, I'm glad I did not step on anybody's toes one way or another. ^^
> an entry to the market is best practiced with price competitiveness, isn't it ?
To my experience the opposite holds true: If you make "competitive" rates your USP, the signal going along with it is that you need to be cheap because that is all you have to offer. Plus there will always be someone who is cheaper than you, so where to stop?
A decent product should be what you sell, at a solid rate which does not depend on what anyone else charges, but on what you personally need to charge to create your decent product. If you have to work like an idiot in order not to starve, your translations will probably not be the best.
I do not care who might be cheaper than me (most colleagues in my niche are I suppose) and have never been short of customers so far. They simply know that a crappy translation is _always_ too expensive, no matter how rock-bottomish the translator charges.
Sure, that's the realist way of looking at it but since I saw myself at a disadvantage among so many professionals as a starter, I assumed I should be practicing price penetration to get a foothold in the business. I may have decided wrong. :/
Understanding English may be relatively simple (although I see a lot of non-native English speakers - even professional translators - getting confused when, for example, a word could be either a noun or a verb). Translating into English, however, is a different kettle of fish. Many non-native speakers may think it's easy to translate into English, but native-speakers spot the errors even more easily.
Mr. Bindon nails it.
Dare me if a quarter of Turkish citizens do not understand English at a simple level but grasping the leashes of a language so as to be able to translate from and into it is a totally different story.
I, personally, have seen that translating from Turkish to English is definitely more exhausting than the translation vica versa so I have determined my Tur>Eng rates slightly higher.
The two languages coming from different language families with contradicting grammatical structures and having been nourished from dramatically distant cultures makes the translation into English, adapting the verbal use to some Westerner's way is one helluva work.
[Edited at 2011-09-11 19:14 GMT]
[Edited at 2011-09-11 19:16 GMT]
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